Shopping carts, or more generally shopping containers, are often provided by retailers for use by shoppers inside a store for transport of merchandise to a check-out area during shopping and to an automobile. Typically, a shopper will push a shopping cart between aisles of a store during shopping. The shopper may also load one or more baskets (or “load carriers”) of the shopping cart with merchandise for purchase.
Often, shoppers will carry along personal items when shopping. For convenience, a shopper may place a personal item in his or her shopping cart. The personal item may be a valuable item such as a purse or an electronic device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer. In such instances, for security reasons the shopper will be motivated to either stay very near to the shopping cart, or remove the item from the shopping cart and carry it when attention is diverted from the area of the shopping cart. These instances can pose an inconvenience to the shopper. Therefore, there is a need for improved techniques for securing shoppers' personal items during shopping.